4 day country fair so happy

[Lin19687]

Ok so this is the 1st but fair I have done.
1st day was Friday which they all said was a slow day. Not really for me.
I was so surprised that I sold as much as I did.
Table fee is $250 and I took in about $360 roughly. This is just the amount I took in. I lost $8 due to a change issue and not sure if they swindled me or I just was not thinking after a long day. I chalk it up to a learning experience.

Most people that stopped to smell bought so that is good. No little kids so far touching, but I am working on my speech for them not to touch.

I still have 3 more days and winder if I will have enough stock. Sold about 62 bars in 28 sale transactions so they bought more then just one.

So when everyone says bring it all. DO IT. I brought all I had that was cured.


Anyway, thank you to all that give advice on markets and fairs. I will add more things that I learn to this at the end.
I'm done charging my car to get there today..... for me this is the worse part of driving an EV

 

[SaltedFig]

I'm still getting used to the differences in "fairs" between our countries, but I'm glad you are happy with the day - it sounds like you had fun!

Does the fee mean that the other 3 days are just income (no more expenses)?

 

[lsg]

Congratulations on your success.

 

[Lin19687]

I paid $250 table fee for the 4 days. So everything over that is mine

 

[scard]

Congratulations, you are off to a great start! I hope the rest of the weekend is just as busy for you.

 

[earlene]

Do you have access to a charging station at the Fair?

My SIL has been driving EV for years (she lives in California) and has told me how she used to go from one place to another to charge her car sometimes. They have a charging station in their garage, of course and that got her to work just fine. And she worked at Standford, so their were charging stations, but access was limited so often not enough to get home. So she would go to a library where there were charging stations, charge the car while visiting the library, then she could drive home and charge again in her own garage. That was a few years ago and I think either the availability of charging stations has increased and/or the battery storage or efficiency has increased. Plus she changed brand of EV, so that may have had something to do with it as well. She hasn't mentioned it much lately so I suspect she doesn't go through that as much as in the past.

Congratulations on a successful Fair. I look forward to reading about how your next few days went as well.

 

[Lin19687]

@earlene No charging stations with in walking distance I have been driving EV's for the past 4 years. I found a L3 (super fast charger) that doesn't take me out of the way too far.

The First 2 days were really good, Sunday was ok but Monday was horrible as it was hot and MUGGY out so not that many people came or bought stuff. We started to break down at 6 instead of 8 because 1/2 the vendors in the hall had left and really it just looked bad.
But all in all I will go back next year.

They had a Custom window guy across from us that was Hawking... going in the isle to get people, which is a big no no and we tattled on him. He got told to but still kind of did it. he was a Jerk.
Jerk behind me was creeping into every one else spaces little by little. They were sales guys, the kind that ask for forgiveness after the fact instead of asking for permission. But didn't care either way. Hope they are not allowed next year.

Went with 8 full boxes of soap and came home with only 3.5 I think each box holds about 64 bars.

Now i have to crank out soap ! But at least I know what sells and what is a total flop.

 

[Lin19687]

I used to do that but then I made new labels and needed all the soap I could for this show.
I was selling samples for $1 and was think I will be leaving one out for smelling.

BUT I have found that people still grab the wrapped soaps to smell so I might not leave anything out but the soap (wrapped) anyway. They even reached back behind to smell the 'pile' instead of the one in front.
I WILL be stopping kids form smelling the soap unless adult is there to hold the soap. Just not going to deal with dropped soap any more. I only had to ask once at this Fair and that was only because the kiddo had his face painted. I am not sure if I was more concerned about him ruining his cute face painting or getting it on the soap.
But that is what I told Mom, didn't want to ruin the face paint and she was happy about that. They did buy a soap too.

I had a little group of early 20's kids that rubbed the bottom of the soap... like it was a scratch and sniff

Love the people that say that they can't smell anything on most of the soaps... ummm you might want to get that checked out ... haha

 

[SaltedFig]

Sounds like it was an excellent fair for you Lin!
(I wonder what the soap rubbing was about?)

 

[amd]

I had a little group of early 20's kids that rubbed the bottom of the soap... like it was a scratch and sniff

It is kind of... rubbing the soap brings out the smell better. I've done it to my own soaps when people say they can't smell it. Usually they can't smell because they've already smelled eight bars...

 

[Lin19687]

True, i usually have my soap rag that I wipe the bottoms before the show to do that too. And usually 2 more times if it is a long day show.
It just looked funny. Just glad they didn't use their nails. I would have yelled at that.

 

[OldHippie]

at least I know what sells and what is a total flop.

Would you share some details about this with us?

 

[shunt2011]

Congratulations on a great weekend. You'll find that different things sell at different venues. I had one 30 miles from my current show this past weekend. What sold well at the first one didn't sell well at this one. It also varies on the time of year. However, I can decide what just does not sell and change that factor. I also have a handful or so that sell well no matter where or when.

 

[cmzaha]

I used to do that but then I made new labels and needed all the soap I could for this show.
I was selling samples for $1 and was think I will be leaving one out for smelling.

BUT I have found that people still grab the wrapped soaps to smell so I might not leave anything out but the soap (wrapped) anyway. They even reached back behind to smell the 'pile' instead of the one in front.
I WILL be stopping kids form smelling the soap unless adult is there to hold the soap. Just not going to deal with dropped soap any more. I only had to ask once at this Fair and that was only because the kiddo had his face painted. I am not sure if I was more concerned about him ruining his cute face painting or getting it on the soap.
But that is what I told Mom, didn't want to ruin the face paint and she was happy about that. They did buy a soap too.

I had a little group of early 20's kids that rubbed the bottom of the soap... like it was a scratch and sniff

Love the people that say that they can't smell anything on most of the soaps... ummm you might want to get that checked out ... haha

I am glad to hear your show went well other than the last day, which commonly happens on the last day especially if if it a Holiday to boot. Any markets I have ever done, unless the management gives permission to pack up and leave early, it is a big no no to leave early and will not get you invited back next year. Having a bad is just part of the beast. If you had only 1 bad day out of 4 days you did well. I just finished up a 5 Friday night Street Fest, with only 1 decent night. It was more for the entertainment of going rather than making money. If I sold $150 a night I was doing well.

Everyone's smell receptors vary and some can smell what others cannot, many times I have a customer that cannot smell a soap I think is very strong, and I fragrance strong. A customer can become overwhelmed with fragrance just from walking up to the booth. Many times I suggest they pick up and smell the can of coffee, it might help or I hand them a stronger fo, such as DB to smell, which will, many times get a smile and the comment, "I can smell that!" For smell samples I place a slice on top of my wrapped soaps that is open on two ends. If it happens to be a slow selling soap and the slice is very short on fo I open an end on a bar for a sample, my soaps are fully wrapped with labels inside, so picking up one does not hurt a thing. We have also scratched a soap if a customer cannot smell it, sometimes it works sometime it does not. If I see someone reaching for a wrapped soap I just reach over and hand them the one with an open end to smell.

As for children, what is it going to hurt if they pick up and smell a soap? It is soap and all samples get dirty. If they had a runny nose spritz your sample with alcohol and wipe it off After they have left, especially if with a parent. I even hand a soaps to children that I think the child would like the fragrance. For little girls it is usually BRV and for the little guys I hand them Werewolf and tell them, " This is my man's soap!" Children like to be included and many parents get very offended if you tell a child not to pick up the soap or have a sign. Sales are tough enough that you do not want to risk the loss of a customer over smelling a soapee. In the past I would have kiddie smell samples when I was still selling my daughters m&p, but since I do not push my soaps for children so I do not make kiddie fragrances like my daughter did with her m&p.

Shari is correct, what sells like a champ at one market/show may be a total flop at another. I find I know what sells well at my regular markets, but shows that are not weekly are a hit and miss. I do have one show I do multi days twice a year and I know what the customers in that area like. When I sold at a Friday market for several years I knew what the customers tended to by, now in my weekly market very few of those soaps are popular. It takes time to figure out your customer base. One, probably a yearly type street fest, does not give any clue as to what will or will not sell.

 

[amd]

For little girls it is usually BRV and for the little guys I hand them Werewolf and tell them, " This is my man's soap!"

Off topic: you dang enablers. This weekend I added Cracklin Birch and Werewolf to my Nature's Garden order.

 

[Lin19687]

@amd you need to order Stormy Nights !!! I sold out the 3rd day (there were only 2 left on 3rd day).

The reason for the No kids touch is that when the group DROPS the soap and dents the end... No one wants to buy that one.
I would rather lose the sale then not be able to sell 6 soaps due to kids dropping them. Maybe the Parents will understand that this is a business not just a little stand with crap on it. They can bang up the Misfits bin if they want. Also you can't see "Sticky" on kiddos fingers. I would rather play it safe.
Usually a little rag rub on the soap works fine. If they can't smell most of the soaps (my soaps) then I would rather they didn't buy and put a review that the soaps don't smell.
I DON'T use Plastic at all. It is my preference and I don't want more plastic in the landfills, recycle paper is better and sells Very well here. Paper bags to take their soap in.

 

[amd]

@Lin19687 sigh... must I really? No no please don't make me buy it! Duly noted for future orders. BTW I almost ordered Perfect Man, but skipped because of the price. I'm trying to save my pennies for the ingredients for shampoo (syndet) bars and only buying what I need. (But don't tell M&M that 'cuz I just dropped 70 bucks there today...) The struggle is real.

Re: kids touching stuff... at my last two day show I had one lady come up with 5 out of control kids. They had hands on everything, it took Chris, Claire and myself to keep an eye on who had what. My final straw was when one of the kids stuck the lip balm in their mouth. (Granted, my lip balms are shrink wrapped, but still... ewww!) I had to politely ask (I did my best not to do it through clenched teeth) if her kids could step out of the booth. Fortunately my daughter piped up that she would take them to the playground within our sights, thank goodness. Otherwise I have been fortunate enough that parents have policed their own kids.

 

[Lin19687]

I did have one woman have to buy a big Salt bar because her kid dropped it on the ground and broke off the corner.
That was the other weekend. I didn't even feel bad for her. Her kid was all over the stuff and dropping it on the table.
I smiled and took the money then explained how great the salt bars really are.

FYI, both men & women loved the Stormy night.
I DID buy the 8oz of Perfect Man.... it is curing and I love it.

 

[cmzaha]

Your are lucky she agreed to buy it, she could have just walked away and nothing could really be done about it. With my table setup kiddies cannot get to the soaps, because their arms are not long enough, except for a few mark downs on the very bottom row, but selling at outdoor markets is a big learning curve. Kiddies have parents and parents have the money. I am there to make loyal customers and money. I am also luck in approx 8 yrs of selling I have not had many unruly kids at my booth. Maybe they get intimidated with my hubby there, who knows.

I understand the issue with shrink wrap, but when you do multiple markets in a week, packing and unpacking paper gets beat up badly. I tried that in the beginning of my soap selling and it cost me to much money in time, paper and labels to rewrap tacking looking packaging. This way of selling is not perfect since it does has it downfalls. It is easier to sell a soap with a dinged corner, but much harder to sell one with old looking packaging. Lately I seem to drop soap quite often and not on the table, but on the ground so sometimes they get a dinged corner, they still sell. I am not saying my way is better, it is better for me.

Re: kids touching stuff... at my last two day show I had one lady come up with 5 out of control kids. They had hands on everything, it took Chris, Claire and myself to keep an eye on who had what. My final straw was when one of the kids stuck the lip balm in their mouth. (Granted, my lip balms are shrink wrapped, but still... ewww!) I had to politely ask (I did my best not to do it through clenched teeth) if her kids could step out of the booth. Fortunately my daughter piped up that she would take them to the playground within our sights, thank goodness. Otherwise I have been fortunate enough that parents have policed their own kids.

That was great of her to take them to the playground. This is also why my booth is not a walk-in booth plus I find walk-in booths do not work well here. Last Friday I was given a space that had no way to walk around to my crochet hats, so I did try to make it a walk in with my hat table on the side my duckies up front, they always draw kids and parents, and my 4 soap and lotions set back so they could easily get to all tables. In an hour not one person walked in and no sales other than duckies. I persuaded my hubby into helping me move four setup tables and moved the hat tables back. As soon as we moved them people stopped and purchased soaps and lotions. Setup makes a huge difference.

 

[amd]

That was great of her to take them to the playground. This is also why my booth is not a walk-in booth plus I find walk-in booths do not work well here. Last Friday I was given a space that had no way to walk around to my crochet hats, so I did try to make it a walk in with my hat table on the side my duckies up front, they always draw kids and parents, and my 4 soap and lotions set back so they could easily get to all tables. In an hour not one person walked in and no sales other than duckies. I persuaded my hubby into helping me move four setup tables and moved the hat tables back. As soon as we moved them people stopped and purchased soaps and lotions. Setup makes a huge difference.

I got pretty lucky with that kid, she's a sweet soul.

Setup makes a huge difference... I'm trying to remember which thread it was that I posted about my marketing friend's perspective on table setups. I've noticed, whether I am a shopper or just doing a walk through to see what vendors are at a market, that I don't stop to look at all the tables. Particularly the booths setup in an inward U or an inward L shape. If I have to walk into a booth, I won't. When I was at the Fargo art festival a few months ago, the only booths that I went into were the artists that I was specifically looking for. Two of the three soap makers were setup in the inward U shape, and they had no customers. The only reason I walked in was to see what scents they were carrying, their prices, and read their ingredient label. (Yep, I'm a stalker. I refuse to be ashamed.) The third booth was setup outwards and they were so busy I couldn't get to the booth (which was ok, because I've talked to them and bought their soap before).